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BUDGET DAY: ANOTHER SPLIT-SCREEN MOMENT – Our own Darren Samuelsohn explains: “President Barack Obama is facing a major foreign policy test — but on Tuesday he’ll have to pause for the ritualistic domestic politics of the budget. Unlike Vladimir Putin, budget politics are predictable: Obama’s fiscal blueprint isn’t going anywhere in Congress, and it’s designed primarily as an appeal to his Democratic base in a midterm election year. The president will unveil the $3 trillion-plus fiscal plan at 11:30 a.m. at a Washington elementary school, while most of official Washington’s attention is halfway around the world. …

-- “The budget will follow on themes from his State of the Union address of economic inequality. It will avoid calling for a big change to entitlements that’s been widely panned by liberals and instead seek to expand a popular tax credit to middle-class workers without children. It also suggests slashing the Pentagon and beefing up spending for early childhood education, highway repairs and combating climate change. Budget politics are often Kabuki theater at their best — this year will be no different. After all, the critical spending caps that will help keep the government open are already in place, and both sides have reasons to avoid tough votes on appropriations bills before November. Yet, as tradition dictates, Washington is sure to proceed with a mad dash to analyze — and pick apart — most of the goodies stuffed into the latest White House budget.” http://politi.co/1dWLr4G

THE DAY AHEAD -- 8 a.m.: Copies of the fiscal year 2015 budget will be delivered to Capitol Hill in Dirksen 608 and Cannon 207.

-- 11:30 a.m.: President Obama tours a classroom and delivers remarks on his 2015 budget at Powell Elementary School in Washington, D.C.’s Petworth neighborhood.

-- 12:45 p.m.: OMB Director Sylvia Matthews Burwell holds a news conference at EEOB about the president’s budget. She’ll be joined by Jason Furman, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, Cecilia Muñoz, director of the Domestic Policy Council and Gene Sperling, director of the National Economic Council.

“Obama budget sets up a debate on poverty,” A1 below the fold, By the Washington Post’s Zachary A. Goldfarb and Robert Costa: “In his latest request to Congress, Obama plans to seek $56 billion in fresh spending to expand educational offerings for preschoolers and job training for laid-off workers … Meanwhile, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (Wis.) is at work on a GOP budget plan that aims to overhaul the nation’s welfare system, in part by cutting spending on programs that Ryan argues have locked people into poverty.”

U.S. THREATENS SANCTIONS AGAINST RUSSIA – Peter Baker writes on A1 of the New York Times: “The United States prepared Monday to impose sanctions on high-level Russian officials involved in the military occupation of Crimea, as the escalating crisis in Ukraine prompted turmoil in global markets, pounding the Russian ruble and driving up energy prices. The Obama administration suspended military ties to Russia, including exercises, port visits and planning meetings, just a day after calling off trade talks. If Moscow does not reverse course, officials said they would ban visas and freeze assets of select Russian officials in the chain of command as well as target state-run financial institutions. …

-- “The besieged Kiev government said Monday that the Russians had deployed 16,000 troops in the region over the past week and had demanded that Ukrainian forces there surrender within hours or face armed assault. While Russia denied it had issued any ultimatums, it was clearly moving to strengthen its control over Crimea, the largely Russian-speaking peninsula in southern Ukraine where Moscow has long maintained a military base.” http://nyti.ms/1dWPK03

HILL PREPS AID PACKAGE FOR UKRAINE – John Bresnahan reports for POLITICO: “House and Senate leaders in both parties are promising quick action on potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. economic aid to Ukraine along with possible sanctions against Russia after its invasion of Crimea. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said he had spoken to House committee chairmen on Monday about assembling a Ukranian aid package, including possible loan guarantees. …

-- “House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.) has already scheduled a hearing on the Ukrainian crisis for Thursday. … Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), however, cautioned that Obama should secure European support for any sanctions against Russia before the United States attempts to impose them.” http://politi.co/1cyPWly

BOEHNER: REELECTION AS SPEAKER ‘WON’T EVEN BE CLOSE’ – Sheila McLaughlin and Deirdre Shesgreen report for the Cincinnati Enquirer: “West Chester Republican John Boehner said he is confident he can win a third term as House speaker, despite his rocky three years in the post and his narrow re-election to that leadership slot in 2013. ‘It won’t even be close,’ Boehner said of his re-election as speaker during an hourlong exclusive interview Monday with The Enquirer. ‘I frankly think I’m in better shape with my own caucus than I have been any time in the last three years. ... I think they understand me better.’” He also called Putin a “thug.” http://cin.ci/1hCeBL5

POSSIBLE RIVAL TELLS SINEMA: DON’T SWITCH DISTRICTS – Arizona state Rep. Ruben Gallego, in Washington yesterday pitching Phoenix as a host city for the 2016 DNC, made time for a round of interviews about his own congressional run, including with Roll Call’s Anny Livingston: “A Democrat running for the seat of retiring Arizona Rep. Ed Pastor said Sunday he would not drop his bid in deference to freshman Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, a fellow Democrat who may opt to run for the newly opened seat instead of her own. Pastor’s 7th District is solidly Democratic, while any Democrat running for Sinema’s neighboring 9th District could face a tough general election fight every cycle until the next round of redistricting. Because of that, speculation about the possibility that Sinema might move to the open district emerged immediately after Pastor’s Feb. 27 retirement announcement. …

-- Gallego said he’ll run no matter what Sinema does. “‘I’m a big supporter of Kyrsten Sinema,’ Gallego said. ‘I got to work for her, work with her. I’ve donated to her campaign the first time around, the second time around, and I hope she stays in District 9 because she is the right moderate, business-oriented voice for that district.’ He added: ‘But, if she decides to move to District 7, we will have a very spirited race and I will run against her.’” http://bit.ly/1kuezYK

-- Former White House staffer Ronnie Cho, a Phoenix native, is “seriously considering” running for the Pastor seat, reports the Washington Examiner’s Tim Mak. Cho had a memorable role in an HBO documentary about the Obama campaign. If he wins, he would become the first Korean-American Democrat in Congress. http://washex.am/1lw9U8Q

GOOD TUESDAY MORNING, MARCH 4, 2014, and welcome to The Huddle, your play-by-play preview of all the action on Capitol Hill. Send tips, suggestions, comments, complaints and corrections to swong@politico.com. If you don’t already, please follow me on Twitter @scottwongDC.

TODAY IN CONGRESS – The Senate is back at 2 p.m. today but both votes and weekly caucus meetings have been postponed until Wednesday due to travel issues related to the snow storm.

The House also meets at 2 p.m. with votes expected about 6:30 p.m. on several bills considered under suspension of the rules: The Home Heating Emergency Assistance Through Transportation (HHEATT) Act, Energy Efficiency Improvement Act, United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act, a resolution supporting the people of Venezuela as they protest peacefully for democratic change and calling to end the violence, and a homeowners flood insurance bill.

AROUND THE HILL – Copies of the fiscal year 2015 budget will be delivered to Capitol Hill at 8 a.m. in Dirksen 608. Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer holds a pen and pad with reporters at 11 a.m. in H-144. Also at 11, House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp keynotes a tax reform forum in Rayburn 2325. Rep. Joe Crowley, vice chair of the Democratic Caucus, will deliver remarks at the Aspen Institute’s “Working Towards a Secure Retirement: Strengthening Our Nation’s Savings System” congressional briefing at 1:45 p.m. in Rayburn B-318. At 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Dave Camp headlines a Christian Science Monitor breakfast at the St. Regis Hotel.

SEN. BOB CORKER (R-TENN.), writing in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, accuses the auto union of trying to muzzle public officials: “Picture an election where an entity is given nearly unfettered access to voters for two years and then is allowed to call for a surprise vote with only a few days' notice. Then imagine that the entity loses the vote and complains that ‘outside forces’—who happen to be community leaders—should not have been allowed to speak or share their point of view. While most Americans can contemplate such a scenario playing out in another country, this is what has been happening in Tennessee.” http://tinyurl.com/mfdn8lm

TEXAS PRIMARY TESTS TEA PARTY – Nathan Koppel writes for the Wall Street Journal: “Texans head to the polls Tuesday in the first primary of the year, an election which will show whether several prominent Republican lawmakers can fend off antiestablishment challengers. It's also expected to provide the first big test of a tough new voter-identification law. … The most consequential primary battle involves U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, who faces several Republican challengers and stirred up resentment among many conservatives in Texas last month, when he joined Democrats to vote to increase the government's borrowing authority. …

-- “Mr. Cornyn remains a decided favorite in the contest, political experts said, largely because his most well-known challenger, U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman, has alienated tea-party groups by running a lackluster campaign in which he has made few public appearances. …

Rep. Pete Sessions is facing a test from Katrina Pierson, a Dallas area tea-party activist who has received support from tea-party groups statewide.” http://on.wsj.com/1dWT0s9

-- REP. RALPH HALL, 90 years old and the oldest member of Congress, is facing his toughest fight yet, writes POLITICO’S Jose DelReal: http://politi.co/MKJOQ9

SCOTT BROWN: ATTACKS PRODDING ME TO RUN – POLITICO’s Manu Raju caught up with the former senator in the Capitol: “Scott Brown has been barraged by Democratic attacks as he decides whether to run for the Senate in New Hampshire. Those attacks, he says, are only encouraging him to get into the race. …[T]he former Massachusetts senator said he was still seriously weighing whether to run in New Hampshire against Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and would ‘probably’ make a decision before the June filing deadline. But Democratic TV ads blistering him on the airwaves – clearly intended to make him think twice about jumping in – are having the opposite effect, he said. ‘They keep running these negative ads and crushing my integrity and distorting my votes and the like — almost antagonizing me, challenging me to get in,’ Brown told POLITICO. ‘Had they left me alone, I may feel a bit different. But they didn’t.’” http://politi.co/1mS5NWb

LANDRIEU NOW BACKS HOUSE FLOOD BILL – Bruce Alpert reports for the Times-Picayune: “Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., on Monday endorsed a House flood insurance bill that she called ‘far from perfect’ but sufficient to provide real protections against unaffordable premium increases. If the bill passes the House, as expected, Landrieu said she would urge the Senate to pass it. ‘It looks like victory is close,’ Landrieu said. House leaders tentatively set debate to begin Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. central time, with a vote possible Tuesday night or Wednesday. … Landrieu lashed out at a statement last week by a leader of the conservative R Street Institute, that congressional leaders are moving away from the Biggert-Waters Act for political reasons, with Democrats wanting to help Landrieu's re-election efforts and Republicans wanting to assist her main GOP challenger, Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge.” http://bit.ly/1fXwmEh

-- CASSIDY, in a statement, made it clear Landrieu had endorsed legislation that he himself had co-authored: “I thank Senators Vitter and Landrieu for supporting the Grimm-Cassidy substitute amendment to the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act. A broad coalition of homebuilders, bankers, realtors, business and civic leaders support the long-term, lasting relief afforded by the Grimm-Cassidy Amendment.”

MEMBERS TRADE DOWN FOR LOWER-PROFILE JOBS – National Journal’s Scott Bland reports: “Washington has become so toxic these days that one member of Congress is leaving after just one term—to run for a position in local government. After only a year in office, Democratic Rep. Gloria Negrete McLeod of California plotted her escape from the House to seek a seat on the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors. If she is successful, Negrete McLeod will become at least the second member of Congress in two years to move straight from federal government to a smaller, local constituency. Former Rep. Todd Platts, R-Pa., is now known locally as Judge Todd Platts, ever since he won a seat on the York County Court of Common Pleas in 2013, a year after leaving the House. Meanwhile, GOP Rep. Tim Griffin is leaving the House after two terms to seek a decidedly less high-profile position, running for Arkansas lieutenant governor.” http://bit.ly/1kum2XT

MONDAY’S TRIVIA WINNER – We had a tie: Paul Hays and Claude Marx correctly answered just seconds apart that William Holden was the Oscar-winning actor who was Ronald Reagan's best man when he married Nancy Davis in 1952.

TODAY’S TRIVIA – Ben Goodman has today’s question: Name the person who served simultaneously as a state first lady and a member of the House. The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day’s Huddle. Email me at swong@politico.com.

GET HUDDLE emailed to your Blackberry, iPhone or other mobile device each morning. Just enter your email address where it says “Sign Up.” http://www.politico.com/huddle/

** After years of saying "wait until next year," Congress finally has bipartisan legislation to repeal Medicare's broken funding formula. This is the news seniors have been waiting for. But we're not over the finish line yet. Congress must act by March 31st to avoid another costly temporary patch. Let's pass H.R. 4015/S. 2000, scrap the broken SGR formula and fix Medicare once and for all! FixMedicareNow.org